Vessels used to heat water have been in use by mankind for centuries. The kettle itself in various shapes and forms has been one of mankind's most useful tools in recent history and even today with the presence of automatic water heaters, there are many countries whose sales of water kettles are impressive.
In the past, efforts have been made to prevent the user from being scalded have been many and varied. In some instances the spout was removed a substantial distance from the body of the kettle and on others the handle was deliberately located a safe distance from the spout.
Some efforts have been directed to providing a spout flap or baffle to deflect the steam away from the handle in instances where the handle and spout were closely located to one another. In some cases the baffle or flap was spring loaded and required the use of a finger or lever to open the spout when adding water to the kettle.